A visible irritant that was ignored

In my early teens I worshiped the “idiot box”—from cartoon shows to movie clippings, I never failed to keep myself updated with any of them. I never realized that every time I watched television it signalled me towards a significant problem within my body.

Every time I watched television I sat really close to the TV set. I never realized why I sat close to the TV, my parents thought it was the excitement of watching Hrithik Roshan sway his arms to Kaho Na Pyaar Hai in 2000, that made me cling to the TV set.

It was only later in 2000; when I went to my native place wherein our family sat down to watch a reality show on TV together. My uncle observed that even though I wasn’t very excited about watching the show I made sure that I sat very close to the TV to watch it. He told my mom that there was something wrong with my vision and that she should get my eyes checked.

My mother didn’t take it too seriously as both my parents didn’t use spectacles. People always have a misconception about bad eye-sight. According to my family members, it was impossible for me to have a bad eye-sight as they believed that I had inherited their good vision.

In early 2001, my school conducted a medical camp and I was strictly told by the doctors there that I must get my eyes checked as I had poor vision. After a report was sent home, my mother got worried and finally my parents decided to take me to a doctor.

On reaching Udhipi Eye Clinic in Chennai, I was told that my eye power was -0.80. I skipped a heartbeat and then gradually I saw that over the next 6 years my eye power increased to around -5.0

Vague assumptions and theories made by us forced us to ignore such vital signs of poor eye sight. Today when I have started to earn a living, I have decided to enroll for a yearly health check up so that I could keep track of my ailments and live a healthy lifestyle.

Written for http://www.myhealthyspeak.co.in/

Money wending system

India today stands with an appalling health care statistics wherein 42 per cent of its children are malnourished and its rural population today lacks basic health care facilities. In a mournful scenario, we see the drums roll for the “modern health enterprise.”

Today India’s prestigious health care centers of India have almost all the necessary health care equipments that are recommended by the institute of modern health care and amenities.  India has the facilities to cure the darkest disease in the world, but the most important question is whether these modern health care facilities are easily achievable by every section of the society.

These days when one enters any standard hospital in India with a common complaint of a bad stomach or a fever, he must be mentally prepared to shell out at least Rs.5, 000 from his pocket. He must be in a position to adhere to all the expenses suggested by a doctor. A family friend of mine had once gone to a standard private hospital with a complaint of a back pain. He was asked to take up all the renal and urinary tests possible which charged him a bomb.

He was left paranoid with the thought that these tests signaled at the onset of something really serious and he continuously swiped his credit cards to undergo all the possible tests. Finally the doctor revealed that he was suffering from excessive concentration of fat on his waist. He felt foolish and cheated by the entire system; a system that wanted him to spend an entire fortune only to realize it was a waste of time and money.

Medical practitioners today suggest tests that are totally unrelated to the real issue. I have personally experienced scenarios wherein I was suggested at least 15 tests before the doctor could boil down to the nuts and bolts of the matter.

Modern healthcare has definitely improved the status of health care but it has left the common man with serious monetary concerns. Insurance companies take advantage of this scenario and mint fortunes out of this venomous situation.

Modern health care facilities have failed to reach the rural section of India. The PHCs and hospitals don’t have the luxury of proper hospital beds and maternal health care.

Hence the gist of this article remains that modern healthcare hasn’t still benefitted the needy and is harsh on the pockets of the common man. Its quality of being a boon or bane still remains questionable as it hasn’t improved the health indices in India.

Written for -http://www.apollohospitals.com/cutting-edge.php

A journalistic enterprise.

I don't belong to a business background so business definitely isn't a part of my genes. This definitely doesn't take away the rights of dreaming of a new business—to start a magazine. Yes, I have spilled the beans…and probably a year at a J-school has given me the power and ability to believe in my dreams. I have always liked observing and writing about people and events. My first exploration to the world of writing was when I was in my fourth standard. I had been to my uncle’s wedding wherein I was amused by the amount of hard work, fun and color that goes into a wedding. His was the first family wedding I had attended and I enjoyed every bit of the rituals. After the wedding was over, I decided to write about my experience at the wedding. I wrote about each and every event that took place in those four memorable days I was there in my hometown—Durgapur.

Today when I look back at all the writing that I did and I prepare myself to cater into the world of journalism at Thomson Reuters, I realize that my observation and my skill to have a opinion about everything around me has brought me a long way.

My stories for my in-house newspaper have helped me learn journalism with a perspective. The best part I cherish about my profession is the fact that I get to hear the cry and the laughter of the common man. I love the fact that I meet the man at the bus-stop, at a café or even at a five-star hotel. Trust me, not many professions have the leverage of interaction and freedom like journalism.

Taking my career forward, I have decided to launch my own magazine, after a period of fifteen years or so. I am hoping that by then I will have the knowledge and exposure to start my own enterprise in this field. I have also decided to name my magazine as “The Virtue—writing that matters.”

With this magazine I plan to look into issues of India, both urban and rural. Executing this plan would be really challenging and hence a suite like Office 365 will encompass all the technical requirements necessary for my firm. Features like Lync, Exchange and Sharepoint are user friendly and will help in communication and storage of database.

I also want my magazine to open doors for young and aspiring writers and journalists, to write about their favorite genres. Office 365 will definitely be a comfortable tool for them and help them strife better.

I hope The Virtue sees the dawn of modern journalism by 2028 and serves the society.

Once upon a time with my hair...

When I recall childhood I remember sporting hair up to my shoulder and not more than that. Lustrous long hair was something I couldn’t relate to. I was very playful and mischievous as a kid. There are few things that come to my mind when I think of my “hair stories” as a kid.

I was around a 15 month old resident of earth, I had curly hair. (This was before I got a mundan done). I remember playing with my curls using my fingers. It was funny that I actually pulled my curls by myself and then screamed aloud. My mother regularly oiled my hair only to get it shaved when I was 18 months old.

Strangely after that, my hair started growing differently. I had silky and straight hair. I remember my uncle failing to recognize me at Howrah station. He asked my mother, “What’s with her hair, wasn’t it curly before?”  Hairstyle and type changes one’s identity. At a very early stage in life I realized that.

I never valued the gift of having good hair. I once remember playing with a toy helicopter and I keyed it continuously. The helicopter blades got stuck in my hair and tangled it completely. I remember chopping a part of it to get the toy free from the tangles.

I loved hair bands. When Kuch Kuch Hota Hai released, I bought an entire range of them. I remember standing before the mirror and posing with the hair band. My mom never liked it because she felt that it makes our forehead broad, but Karan Johar had already ingrained his fashion sensibility in the society. It was difficult to ignore it.

I also remember wearing beads. Since everyone was out there wearing them, I also went ahead and bought a couple of them. It never looked good on my hair and never stayed for long.

My greatest memory is that of plaiting my hair before going to school. It was a hurdle that my mother crossed every morning until I was sixteen. I would observe things like whether the two plaits looked the same, whether they were of the same length and how nerdy I looked sporting the two plaits. I salute my mother for putting up with my odd tantrums in those years.

Today I’ve grown up and I just use an ordinary clutch to keep my hair together. I like it that way, but fond memories of my childhood like these bring on a smile to my face once in a while.

A last minute thingy!

I was very simple when it came to styling and accessorizing. I was asked to read the news bulletin for my in-house news channel ‘IIJNM-Bangalore City Cast.’ My producer told m everything was fine the only thing I had to do was put a little bit of makeup but she also complained about my hair looking oily. I told her my hair has always been straight and a little oily. There was absolutely no time to go to the parlor and blow dry and make myself look appropriate.

I had just one hour in hand and I thought of something crazy.  I took a little bit of Sunsilk-Orange and applied it on the first few strands of my hair. I washed it carefully and then used my towel to dry it. I should be apologetic to my hair as I rubbed it using my towel violently. Then I combed my hair and it smelled good.

My producer wanted the first few strands of my hair to be nicely combed and set and so I did it!

It was crazy to randomly apply shampoo to a little portion of hair but I did it only for my work . Sometimes the crunch of time makes you do seriously stupid stuff.